


Alternate History: The Exalted March of the Dragon Age

by danceswithhamsters01



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: Divine Vivienne, Emperor Gaspard, Gen, King Alistair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-10
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-07-29 00:36:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16253021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/danceswithhamsters01/pseuds/danceswithhamsters01
Summary: There was a prompt floating in Discord, and I took it and ran with it: Your Warden Converts To the Qun. Thedas Reacts.An AU series of events in my canon Warden and Inquisitor's world-state, as told by the scholar, Sister Patronia of Amaranthine. While the Warden does not break, many, many other things do.





	Alternate History: The Exalted March of the Dragon Age

Prompt: Your Warden Converts To the Qun. Thedas Reacts.

 

_An account written by Sister Patronia of Amaranthine, 9:95 Dragon._

 

Ever have mages left their mark on society and history in Thedas. The ancient Tevinter Magisters and their empire once ruled the known world. In more recent memory, the Hero of Ferelden, Sevarra Amell, once a Circle mage, aided the Warden King, Alistair Theirin, in stopping the Fifth Blight in 9:31. One cannot forget he who struck the match that sent the Mage-Templar War into motion in 9:37: Anders, the Grey Warden mage. Swiftly following that event was Grand Enchanter Fiona, who lead the mages in their rebellion, causing the Circles of Magi to separate from the Chantry that had held their chains for centuries.

 

With all the excitement surrounding mages and the second Inquisition, one can almost forgive our forebearers for not taking notice of the Qun’s agents and the seeds they were sowing in our very lands. First, the Free Marches fell under the Qun, city by city, starting with Kirkwall. Most of these coups were bloodless, as the leadership usually chose the “convert” option when given the choice of “convert or die.” Starkhaven was the lone exception, her Prince defiant to the end as the city burned to the ground and citizens who refused to convert were put to the sword.

 

Nevarra erupted into civil war, converts to the Qun leading a rebellion against the long-reigning Pentaghast line. And then nobility and heads of state began vanishing. Emperor Gaspard of Orlais vanished within days of Antiva’s recently-crowned King, Esteban IV, grandson of the previous king, Fulgeno II. Nearly half the nobles who vanished would later resurface as supporters of the Qun. While Esteban IV was never heard from again, Gaspard’s reappearance in Val Royeux, along with his claims of having been “rescued” by Qunari, caused waves. His later public declaration that the empire was to follow the way of the Qun caused the then-current Divine to declare an Exalted March.

 

While Orlais was once again tearing itself apart in yet another civil war, the Anderfels were reluctant allies with Tevinter, having fended off many attempts on the lives of both the Ander royal family and many members of the Magisterium. But being so far to the north, and embroiled in their own troubles, there was no way they could render aid to Ferelden once the servants of the Qun chose to cross the Waking Sea.

 

One should stop and consider the life of Divine Victoria before she ascended to the Sunburst Throne. Before her election, she was a prominent Circle mage from Orlais known as Vivienne. She was of great help to the second Inquisition, often taking the field with the Herald of Andraste herself, Eylarra Trevelyan. While she reunited the Circles of Magi with the Chantry, there were many mages who refused to join the reformed Circles. In a show of mercy, the Divine allowed them to live. These rebels then formed the College of Enchanters. The rivalry between these two organizations persists to the present day.

 

Sevarra Amell, the Hero of Ferelden, and former Grey Warden, was among the Magi who refused to return to the Circle. She threw her lot in with the College of Enchanters and spent her time first in Antiva’s College of the Arcane teaching, and then later returning to her homeland to assume the title of Master Enchanter of the Ferelden College of Enchanters. It should not come as any surprise that His Majesty King Alistair Theirin insisted that the College build its Ferelden base near Denerim. Rumors of anything more than friendship between His Majesty and Amell have been swiftly denied by descendants on both sides. Violently so.

 

It would come to light that the Qun followed the plan they used in other nations: win over and convert the underclass to their way of thinking, kidnap and convert those in positions of power or prominence, and only after those things have been done, employ military might. The teyrn of Gwaren converted, as did the Banns of West Hill, Rainesfere and the Bann of Denerim’s Alienage. The Circle of Magi in Ferelden made its home in Kinloch Hold, on land that belonged to the West Hill Bannorn. West Hill’s Bann allowed Qunari visitors to Kinloch Hold. Of 120 magi and 40 templars who called the Circle home, only 10 mages and 2 templars would survive the slaughter. First Enchanter Irving was among the dead.

 

Many forget that the Hero of Ferelden was at one time the apprentice to First Enchanter Irving of the Ferelden Circle of Magi. During the time the Hero was raised, mages were not allowed families of their own, and were instead forcefully grafted into Circles. As was often the case, a surrogate parent-child bond would form between master and apprentice. To say that Amell took the First Enchanter’s death hard would be an understatement. Accounts from Denerim reported a massive lightning storm smothered the capital, emanating from the College of Enchanters’ tower on the city’s outskirts.

 

Bann Franderel’s betrayal of the Circle of Magi did not go unseen… or unpunished. In an unusual show of power, the Bann’s entire family was hung by order of the Crown. The Bann himself was slain by the Hero in one on one combat. More outlandish accounts state that she did so while taking the shape of a massive feline. This act caused an already tense situation to explode. Gwaren rebelled, with aid from Par Vollen. Antaam forces had landed on Ferelden soil. Along with them came Saarebas and their Arvaarad handlers. Several of the “Saarebas” were in fact mages kidnapped from Kinloch Hold and enslaved by the Qunari, much to the horror of both Circle survivors and College members.

 

Months went by, with fighting coming to a stalemate. Gwaren, Rainesfere, West Hill all were safe harbor for Qun forces, while Denerim’s Alienage was chaos. Unwilling to slay an entire section of the city, Crown forces instead apprehended those under suspicion of being Qun sympathizers and imprisoned them in Fort Drakon. Before the war was over, the Fort was filled beyond intended capacity.

 

In the spring, a Qunari leader called The Arishok landed in Ferelden. In the Qun, a person does not have an individual name. Instead, they are referred to by the title they hold in their society. The Arishok is the head of the Antaam, or military, in addition to one of the three top leaders of Qunari society as a whole. This particular Arishok had been in Ferelden before while traveling under a different name. He had been called Sten, and he had helped the Hero and the Warden King end the Fifth Blight years earlier.

 

It was on the field of battle, during the fateful Battle of South Reach, that Hero and the man once known as Sten would meet once more. The Arishok knew of the Hero’s magical prowess and came prepared. He had, according to differing accounts, between 10 and 15 Arvaarad with him, in hopes of forcefully putting her under the Qun’s control if she would not willingly submit. While the Hero perished, she took all of the Arvaarad, the Arishok, most of the Qun soldiers, and the majority of the surrounding landscape, with her into oblivion. To this day, the land is still uninhabitable.

 

In his grief, the Hero’s husband, Zevran Arainai, returned to Antiva. He quickly assumed control of the Antivan Crows… and pledged them into the service of Divine Victoria. This would prove to be a turning point in the Exalted March of the Dragon Age. As soon as Orlais repelled Qunari forces, the Divine turned her forces toward Ferelden. Within 2 years, Ferelden was liberated. The Antivan Crows officially became a new wing of the Divine’s army, adding to the Templar forces that had remained loyal to the Chantry. Zevran would become both the first elven and first male Left Hand of the Divine.

 

It would take over a decade, but eventually the Qunari were pushed off of mainland Thedas, including Rivain. Par Vollen would fall and be burnt to ash, forcing the surviving Qunari to flee to Seheron.


End file.
